Little Ferry Public Schools

Little Ferry Public Schools
Address
130 Liberty Street Little Ferry , Bergen County , New Jersey , 07643 United States
Coordinates	40°50′51″N74°02′35″W / 40.847497°N 74.042943°W / 40.847497; -74.042943
District information
Grades	PreK to 8
Superintendent	Matthew A. Perrapato
Business administrator	John Gomez
Schools	2
Students and staff
Enrollment	806 (as of 2022–23) [1]
Faculty	84.0 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	9.6:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group	CD
Website	www.littleferry.k12.nj.us
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-8 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $14,916 11 $18,891 −21.0% 1 Budgetary Cost 10,718 5 14,159 −24.3% 2 Classroom Instruction 7,182 9 8,659 −17.1% 6 Support Services 1,268 3 2,167 −41.5% 8 Administrative Cost 918 1 1,547 −40.7% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,160 10 1,612 −28.0% 13 Extracurricular Activities 59 15 104 −43.3% 16 Median Teacher Salary 64,922 65 61,136 Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. [2] *Of K-8 districts with more than 750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=84

The Little Ferry Public Schools is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Little Ferry in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^[3]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 806 students and 84.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.6:1. ^[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "CD", the sixth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J. ^[4]

As Little Ferry does not have its own high school, public school students from the borough attend Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park for ninth through twelfth grades as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Ridgefield Park Public Schools that has been in place since 1953. ^{[5] [6] [7]} As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,174 students and 87.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4:1. ^[8]

History

Prior to the 1953-54 school year, students from Little Ferry had attended Lodi High School, as part of a sendin/receiving relationship with the Lodi Public Schools. ^[9]

Awards and recognition

Memorial School was recognized by Governor Jim McGreevey in 2003 as one of 25 schools selected statewide for the First Annual Governor's School of Excellence award. ^[10]

Schools

The district operates two school facilities, across the street from each other. ^[7] Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ^[11] ) are: ^{[7] [12] [13]}

• Washington Elementary School ^[14] with 445 students in grades PreK-4
  • Tonilyn Peragallo, principal ^[15]
• Memorial Middle School ^[16] with 342 students in grades 5-8
  • George Peakler, principal ^[17]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are: ^[18]

• Matthew A. Perrapato, superintendent of schools ^[19]
• John Gomez, board secretary and business administrator ^[20]

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district. ^{[21] [22] [23]}

References

1. District information for Little Ferry Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. Little Ferry Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed February 8, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eight in the Little Ferry School District. Composition: The Little Ferry School District is comprised of all the area within the County of Bergen."
4. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 5, 2014.
5. James, George. "School Districts' Battle On Tuition Goes to Court", The New York Times , December 16, 1989. Accessed February 8, 2024. "School officials in the borough, Little Ferry, which sends 202 students to the 546-student high school, say a partial audit several years ago raised suspicions that Ridgefield Park has overcharged them by hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years.... Little Ferry, a borough of 1.5 square miles and 9,900 people, has sent its high school students to this neighboring 1.92-square mile village of 12,000 people, since 1953."
6. Miraglia, Mary K. "Little Ferry Schools Not Responsible For $1.5M Gap In Ridgefield Park", Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights Daily Voice, January 13, 2016. Accessed February 8, 2024. "Ridgefield Park Superintendent Eric Koenig reached out to Little Ferry Superintendent Frank Scarafile after his board meeting Jan. 7 to go over plans for filling the budget shortfall. Koenig assured him Ridgefield Park won’t be trying to make any changes to the sending - receiving contract that would impose new tuition in the current year, according to a letter Scarafile sent to his board members."
7. About Our District, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed February 8, 2024. "Our Prek-8 district serves approximately 950 students in two schools located across the street from each other in the town of Little Ferry, New Jersey. Memorial School serves approximately 400 students and houses the Middle School which serves students in grades 5-8..... Washington Elementary School serves approximately 500 students in grades PreK to 4. Grades 2 to 4 attend classes in the Elementary wing of Memorial School. Little Ferry’s 9–12 students attend Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey."
8. School data for Ridgefield Park Jr Sr High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
9. "Little Ferry Board Hikes Budget $22,849", The Record , January 13, 1953. Accessed January 4, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "The shift to Ridgefield Park High School and a jump In tuition costs at Lodi High School attended by pupils from Little Ferry will account for a portion of the increase in current expenses. This year's graduation class will attend Ridgefield Park High School next fall and the Board made provision for an Increase of about $100 per pupil In the tuition rate. The Board last night received notice that the tuition rate for Little Ferry pupils who will continue to attend Lodi High School will be Increased $7 and will be $235 for 1953-54. It is estimated that about 150 pupils will be attending Lodi High School next year and 55 will be in Ridgefield Park."
10. McGreevey Celebrates Schools that are "Getting it Right": Schools of Excellence Winners Demonstrate Effectiveness of Governor's Education Priorities, New Jersey Department of Education press release dated November 21, 2003, backed up by the Internet Archive as of November 18, 2012. Accessed May 3, 2013.
11. School Data for the Little Ferry Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
12. School Performance Reports for the Little Ferry Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
13. New Jersey School Directory for the Little Ferry Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
14. Washington Elementary School, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed February 8, 2024.
15. Administration, Washington Elementary School. Accessed February 8, 2024.
16. Memorial Middle School, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed February 8, 2024.
17. Principal's Welcome, Memorial Middle School. Accessed February 8, 2024.
18. New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
19. Superintendent's Corner, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020.
20. Business Office, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed February 8, 2024.
21. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
22. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Little Ferry School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed February 8, 2024. "The Little Ferry Board of Education (the 'Board' or the 'District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The Board consists of nine elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District. A School Business Administrator/Board Secretary is also appointed by the Board and oversees the business functions of the District."
23. Board of Education, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed February 8, 2024. "The Little Ferry Public Schools Board of Education is comprised of 9 elected members."

External links

• Little Ferry Public Schools
• School Performance Reports for the Little Ferry Public Schools , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Little Ferry Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Ridgefield Park High School